Wednesday, September 24, 2008

~~NEATO NEWS FLASH~~ The town of Neato Coolville just voted to celebrate Halloween for the entire month of October. This will be the third year the little happy town will be transformed into a haunted burg of creepiness.

You read that right folks, once again as acting mayor of this town, I'll be embarking on a dark journey of silly madness. Check in on this blog and on the town's ugly step-sister blog Weird Hollow for tricks and treats and smelly feets!

For the first time ever Halloween fun will be doubled in Neato Coolville!

Friday, September 19, 2008

A hardy Arr! for any Neato reader that passes by here today! In celebration o' this special day I was hopin' t' scan in me very old pirate treasure map that I found years ago. I was told by a crusty old pirate that no one has yet t' seek t' treasure. Unfortunately, I can’t find t' map that I made that tells me where I buried t' treasure map! So, instead for your viewin' pleasure here be a scan o' a 1960's Treasureland brochure!

T' learn more about this poor man's Pirates o' t' Caribbean I suggest you click this link!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

One of the most important things to do during our NYC adventure was to walk the old fairgrounds in Flushing Meadows Park. The 1939-40 & 1964-65 New York World’s Fairs were held at the park and for a long time I’ve been interested in these fairs, especially with the 1939 one.

The first set of photos are related to the 1939 World’s Fair.

(The famous parachute jump that was built for the 1939 World's Fair is located at Coney Island. As a bonus for this post I've included my shot of it).

The Letterman show was the only live show that we saw in the big apple. I’ve been a Dave watcher since 1983 and have always wanted to see a live taping. The wait was worth it! The whole experience is fun and exciting from the time you get to the theater to the time you leave.

Before we picked up our tickets we enjoyed a snack at the famous Hello Deli and met Rupert Gee, a Dave regular. This is a must to get the whole Dave experience! The Late Show is really a well-oiled machine. The system for hyping and moving the audience inside the theater is very efficient. Probably the coolest part of show is hearing the world’s most dangerous band - Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. Our show, which will play again this Wednesday, had a great line-up of guests - Nicolas Cage, Anna Torv (from the new TV show Fringe) and actor/musician Terrance Howard.

For myself I was in awe of the beautiful Ed Sullivan Theater. Besides this theater being majestic, I couldn’t help thinking about all the television history that happened in this place. The Honeymooners, What’s My Line and of course all those Ed Sullivan Shows. We were sitting in the same area where hundreds of screaming girls went nuts for the Beatles first American television appearance 44 years ago. Wow!

If you want to see a live taping - be sure to put in a ticket request at the official Late Show site at CBS.com. Just enter three dates and your contact info and sometime before those dates someone from the Late Show will give you a ring. (We got our call a week before) You’ll be instructed to call a staff member from the Late Show who will in turn ask you a trivia question related to the Late Show. You must answer the question correctly or you will not get the tickets. So brush up on your Dave knowledge! Once you have scored perfect on your one question pop quiz you must listen closely for a set of instructions that you’ll need when you pick up your tickets. They usually seat nicely dressed, enthusiastic and smiley people in the good seats. So don’t forget to bring your cheerful face and nice shirt to the theater.

Monday, September 15, 2008

A couple of weeks ago we vacationed in New York City and had a King Kong of a good time! We probably crammed in three weeks of site seeing into one week. NYC is an amazing experience and everyone in this big blue world of ours should try to visit at least once in their lives. This was my second time, but first time to play tourist. Here’s a few snaps that I took from our visit -

I gotta say NYC folks are good people as everyone was super nice. We were greeted with smiles all over the city and complete strangers helped us find our way when we got lost. Now I know why so many people wear those “I Heart NY” shirts.

Besides all the historical sites, museums and entertainment - the best thing in the city just might be Mister Softee.

Friday, September 12, 2008

I've been trying to track down this sticker for years. This little hillbilly guy was known as Ollie Osage the official mascot for Osage Beach, Missouri back in the 1970's and early 80's. If I remember correctly, someone passed 'em out when I was in the 4th grade. Update: I found out that these were made in 1972 or 73, but could be found up into the early 80's. Also, I might have the name wrong - his name might be Osage Ollie or Ozark Ollie.

Instead of finding just one I found a whole slew of 'em! These are the window sticker variety.

Back in the day Ollie could be found stuck to doors and windows of most of the businesses at the Lake of the Ozarks. Good ol' Ollie, he still looks as easy going as he used to be.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

I'm sure anyone who attends this comedy show will have a swell time. I've never seen one of Charles Phoenix's slide shows before, but I hear it's a rip-roaring retro good time. His shows are usually found on the west coast, but thanks to the fine folks of KC Modern, us mid-westerners will have a chance to see the show on October 4th at 8:00 p.m. For all the details click here.

I've been a fan of Phoenix's slide books for some time and I'm looking forward to seeing the show. As a bonus there will be a vintage stewardess fashion show!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Remember how much fun it was to pick out all your new school supplies in preparation for the first day of school. I always liked getting a new box of crayons and my choice like most kids was the big 64 count box of Crayola Crayons with the built-in sharpener.

Here’s an old unused box with all the original crayons before they started changing the color names.

Just for fun I found an old A-B-C book that I made in first or second grade. My “under the sea” cover has nothing to do with the pages inside.

I’ll spare you with only a few scanned alphabet pages.

Looking at these makes me want to buy some crayons and start coloring with them.